Fundraising Speaking

Words are insufficient to describe just how much I gained from attending your sessions during the recent United Way Major and Planned Gifts Institute. I learned so much! Real stuff – not just the fun stuff!

Margie Puerta Edson, CFRE
Vice President Major Gifts & Donor Relations
United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona

I've never had so much fun doing something I dreaded

Staff Member, Delta Center for Independent Living

Carol can speak on these fundraising topics

Please Note: All Keynotes are customized to YOUR audience. One size does not fit all for panty hose or keynotes. Other topics available, just give me a call at 314-863-4422 or e-mail me to discuss your specific needs.

Turning Ordinary People Into Fundraising Superheroes…Even Those Who Hate to Ask

No one joins a nonprofit board because they are looking for a great opportunity to fundraise. To paraphrase Shakespeare, some are born to fundraise, some achieve fundraise and some have fundraising thrust upon them. This talk is for all three groups. Your group will leave understanding how everyone in the room can get involved in fundraising actively, joyfully and productively even if you are the most ask-averse person on the planet. We will talk about the PROCESS of fundraising and how you can encourage and lead EVERYONE on your board and team to get involved. This is a highly interactive session. Plan on a minimum of 3 hours. 5 is better! Your Board and staff will leave knowing:

What is the Case for Giving

Why utilize major donor fundraising as a key methodology. (N.B. the average special event costs $.50/dollar earned. Major donor and planned giving average closer to $.05/dollar earned!)

How your board, line volunteers and non development staff can be a great fundraiser and never make an ask

What are the questions you need to ask to get an appointment

What do you need to know about a donor before making the call

Who should go

Tips for working with a partner

How much are you going to request

Questions to Ask When Helping Others To Undertake Acts of Meaningful Generosity

NOTE: This is at least a 2 1/2-4 hour highly interactive workshop.

The first question to ask, is "How are you training your board in fundraising?" If you work in a hospital, you can't even empty a waste can without training. If you expect your board and staff to be successful, training is essential.

Many experienced and effective board members and chief executives are intimidated when it comes to asking for money. Staff also can experience real anxiety despite years of experience. What can be done? For starters, we can stop rehearsing what we want to say to major donors and concentrate on what we want to learn about major donor fundraising. And Carol Weisman, the only speaker on the governance circuit who has also done stand-up comedy, is here to help. In this highly interactive session, she will cover

questions to ask yourself before calling to make an appointment

question to ask when you make the appointment

answers you need to have before the meeting

the format of a major donor meeting

how to close the meeting and create a plan to move forward

how to seriously raise the “close rate” for your organization

Friends for Life: Stewarding Your donors

Thanking people is the name of the game when it comes to donor retention. A tax letter is a start, but it should never be the finish of acknowledging a gift. This workshop focuses on the science and art of retaining your donors. We cover how your most ask-resistent board member can be a vital and enthusiastic part of not only retaining your donors, but getting them more involved in your cause as volunteers, board members and more generous giving. We will cover:

The 4 steps to a stewardship phone call

Knowing the numbers: What is your donor retention rate and how to measure success

Inexpensive and meaningful gifts for donors that do not include mailing labels

Touring for dollars: from 1 hour facilities tours to 10 day mission trips, sharing the mission experience with your donors to show them how and where a difference can be made

Sharing stories: not just your story, but even more importantly, your donor's story of their experience with your mission.

The People You Meet

Looking for the perfect inspirational keynote for an after lunch or dinner that leaves your audience motivated, inspired and excited about service? Carol talks about the people who have inspired, educated and touched her through her 40 years of board service and fundraising work. Carol frequently has people come up to her 10, 15 and even 20 years later who say, "When I get scared about asking for money, I think about that woman in your talk, Judy, and I get on the phone," or "I saw a G.I. and her family in a restaurant and after hearing your talk, paid for her meal anonymously." This talk not only motivates, it changes behavior.

Your audience will leave:

Empowered

Motivated

Optimistic

Enthusiastic

Entertained

Fundraising Strategies: Choosing the Right Methodology for Your Organization:

There are many ways to raise funds for your mission. Carol has a list of 27 including fee for service, foundation grants, cause-marketing, corporate fundraising, direct mail and the list goes on. The questions Carols addresses are:

What is right for your organization?

What is your capacity?

Where will you have the best results?"

We will look at revenue streams including grants, fee for service, planned giving, capital and endowment campaigns, special events, cause related marketing and many more.

Fund Raising Across the Board

Learn how to use Carol's "Chess and Checkers" approach to building a board that's active in fund raising. Learn how great leaders treat their board members like chess pieces and mediocre boards treat them like checkers. By the end of this session, you'll know how to move your board toward "checkmate" every time.

Touring for Dollars: Turning Visitors into Donors

Are you giving the same tours to prospective donors as you give to prospective students, patients, consumers or their families? Have you ever thought of charging for your tours? Are your tours so terrific that people want to bring their friends and relatives on another tour? Do you customize your tours based on the interests of your guest? Do you give your visitors an item that represents your organization that they will keep for years and years and when they look at it, want to make a donation? If not, learn the magic of what you can achieve in an hour tour, whether your place looks like the Ritz or the Pits.

Fund Raising for Medical Staff — It's Not Brain Surgery

Contrary to popular belief, when you ask someone for money, even if they say no, you won't drop dead! (You may be surprised to find that there are ways that don't even require medication.) Your medical staff have difficult conversations everyday, including the most difficult conversations imaginable about whether to resuscitate, organ donation, treatment options when the choices are all difficult etc. And yet...they will tell you that when they make a philanthropic gift, if they are not pressured, they feel good. And yet,...they don't want to have these conversations with patients. Your staff will learn:

When to ask

When to refer a patient or family to the development staff

What to ask for

How to ask

How to thank current donors without asking

How to identify potential donors

How to empower patients during times of loss

N.B. Carol Weisman was a medical social worker for 11 years in pediatric neurology and neurosurgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital and in pediatric hematology and oncology at Children's Hospital National Medical Center. She knows and empathizes with how difficult this can be for staff and how to overcome obstacles.

The Future of Fund Raising: Beyond Bake Sales and into Cyberspace

As the competition for resources continues to skyrocket, find out how you can use new technology to work smarter, not harder to secure the future of your nonprofit. Discover a high-tech, high-touch approach. Learn what not to abandon from your arsenal of tried and true methods.

Governance and Fundraising Open Forum with Carol Weisman and Michael Daigneault, JD

This is the perfect program for a large group with diverse needs. We ask people to discuss their challenges in groups of 6-8. We then post them on flip charts around the room and the entire group votes on their top priorities. We then go topic by topic, using the talent in the room and our 50+ years of experience to discuss how to address these challenges. We have done this for groups as large as 250. Perfect for AFP Chapters or large organizations with a chapter structure where different chapters have different challenges. We then write up notes, including resources such as websites, articles and books, and send them to the entire group. We prefer to have a minimum for 4 hours and preferably, 5.